UNICEF Canada

UNICEF is a non-profit humanitarian organization focusing on saving children’s lives around the globe.

UNICEF is a non-profit humanitarian organization focusing on saving children’s lives around the globe. UNICEF is on a mission to reach every child and ensure their well-being, no matter where they are in this world. There’s no limit to the lengths UNICEF will go, the risks we’ll take or the depth of our commitment to save children’s lives. By plane, boat or foot, we reach the poorest, most vulnerable children in the world’s most inaccessible places, bringing them simple, life-saving essentials like vaccines and clean water.

UNICEF Canada is one of UNICEF's 36 National Committees. UNICEF Canada’s main office is in Toronto, Ontario.

Canada currently ranks 14th out of the 41 richest countries for teen mental health and a shocking 31st out of 41 for teen suicide. Why do we rank so low you may ask? That's the question experts across the country are working to address each day.

Renewed fighting in the southern Syrian governorate of Dar'a forced children and their families out of their homes and into the wilderness. After six years of war in Syria, it has become commonplace for families living through cycles of intense violence and relative calm to seek shelter in agricultural fields until it is safe to return home.

On Friday UNICEF is releasing a major report linking trafficking to smuggling and calling on the G7 countries meeting in Sicily to come up with plans to protect migrant children from the people predators. Mary's story reveals how the smugglers exploit children and their families.

Wherever they are, mothers will do anything for their children. At UNICEF, we witness it every day while we work to help children and their families survive and thrive. For Mother's Day, be inspired by some of those mothers who do everything they can to keep their children safe, healthy and happy.

As you approach Lake Chad, the air is dusty, and the sparse vegetation is broken only by shrubs. We mentioned the shrinking Lake Chad issue to Aïta but she had never heard of it. I took bits of straw, sticks, and leaves to explain that the Lake Chad she knows is disappearing.

Continued violence and insecurity in Syria have driven 6.8 million people from their homes. Amid the severe deprivation and uncertainty that come with displacement, mothers like Nada, 28, draw on whatever support they can get to meet their children's basic needs while aspiring for a better future.

Until all sieges across Syria are lifted, Madaya and the many other besieged areas just like it remain a two-sided reality aspiring for peace and normality. "We only need peace," a young man told me. "We need to feel safe and lead normal lives again."

Children get the best start in life when they spend their early years lovingly nurtured by engaged caregivers. Helping parents raise healthy, well-adjusted kids is a win-win situation: what's good for the kids is also good for the world.

April 6 is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, a day when we recognize the tremendous power of sport. Evidence shows that the benefits of sport are undeniable. For instance, according to the World Health Organization, for every $1 spent on sports-related programs, $3 is saved on public health care costs.